Low salt and/or low phosphate sausages manufacture

Abstract: A process for manufacturing low salt and/or low phosphate and/or low fat and/or high water sausages comprising preparing a meat batter consisting of meat, added fat, ice and nitrite curing salt, stuffing, treating the stuffed meat batter with a high hydrostatic pressure and cooking.

Description: The present invention concerns the manufacture of low salt and/or low phosphate and/or low fat and/or high water sausages by a process comprising preparing a meat batter consisting of meat, added fat, ice and nitrite curing salt, stuffing and cooking. US 4752492 discloses a process for effecting gelation of ground fish meat by applying a pressure of from 10 to 200 bar (1 to 20 MPa) thereto without adding any salts such as common salt. This process is actually specifically intended for preparing a fish meat gel product resembling a kamaboko product which may be finely ground and mixed with minced meat in preparing hamburger, for example. In a general survey of effects of application of pressure on meat ("High Pressure technology and meat quality" Developments in meat science (vol 3) 1985, Elsevier applied science publ. LTD., London) Macfarlane et al. report effects upon myosin and actomyosin, effects upon muscle tenderness and structure, effects of treatment of post-rigor vs pre-rigor meat, effects on protein solubility, water holding capacity and cooking loss of meat and effects on meat in saline solution. Also, J.J. Macfarlane : 'Pressure - induced solubilization of meat proteins in saline solution', Journal of food science, 1974, vol. 39, n°. 3 pages 542 to 547, reports on the effects of pressurization on the solubilization of meat protein, and on the water holding capacity in meat homogenates in saline solution (NaCl 0,5M) containing no phosphate. Then, J.J. Macfarlane et al : 'Binding of comminuted meat : effect of high pressure' MEAT SCIENCE, 1984, vol 10, pages 307 to 320 discloses experiments employed to study effects on the characterictics of meat patties formed from comminuted meat containing sodium chloride which is treated with pressure up to 150 MPa. The object of the present invention is to provide a process for manufacturing with high cooking yield, particularly firm low salt and/or low phosphate and/or low fat and /or high water sausages which could not be manufactured with a traditional process, wherein a batter comprising 40% to 70% meat, added water in an amount of from 20% to 50% by weight, added fat so that the fat content is from 1% to 30% by weight and nitrite curing salt is prepared, the batter is then stuffed into a casing and, the encased batter product is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure of from 2000 bar (200 MPa) to 4000 bar (400 MPa) for up to 60 min at a temperature of from - 15°C to 100°C, and then cooked. Preferably, the present process comprises the steps of: grinding comminuted meat, chopping the ground meat, while adding the ice, the nitrite curing salt, optionally phosphate, and optionally fat, stuffing the batter thus obtained into casings, vacuum packing the raw sausages thus obtained, treating the vacuum packed sausages with a hydrostatic pressure of from 2000 to 4000 bar (200 to 400 MPa), unpacking the pressure treated sausages, optionally reddening, cooking and/or smoking and cooling them. As a matter of fact the present process surprisingly permits to manufacture low salt and/or low phosphate and/or low fat and/or high water sausages which could hardly be manufactured with a traditional process comprising preparing a meat batter consisting of meat, added fat, ice and nitrite curing salt, stuffing and cooking, because their texture would not be firm enough and/or because the cooking yeald would be too low. Throughout the present specification, the expression "low salt sausages" means sausages having a salt content which may be considered to be relatively low in view of the fact that the phosphate content and/or the fat content is low and/or the water content is high. Thus, the present meat batter may comprise from 1.2 to 2.4%, preferably from 1.4 to 1.8% nitrite curing salt added during chopping. A nitrite curing salt may consist of a mixture of sodium chloride with sodium nitrite, the amount of the latter representing from 0.3 to 1.0 %, preferably from 0.4 to 0.6% of the salt, for example. Similarly, the expression "low phosphate sausages" means sausages having a phosphate content which is very low and possibly nearly zero. Thus, the present meat batter may comprise up to 0.3%, preferably up to 0.1% phosphate, especially sodium diphosphate, added during chopping. The expression "low fat sausages" means sausages having a fat content which may be lower than the fat content of traditional finely comminuted cooked meat sausages which may typically comprise from 40 to 50% lean meat, from 25 to 35% added fat and from 20 to 30% water. Thus, the present meat batter may comprise fat added during chopping in such proportions that it has a fat content of from 1 to 30%, preferably from 1 to 10%. The expression "high water sausages" means sausages having a water content which may be higher than the water content of said traditional finely comminuted meat sausages. Thus, the present meat batter may comprise from 20 to 50%, preferably from 25 to 45% water added during chopping in the form of ice. For carrying out the process of the present invention, one can use lean meat, namely a meat having a fat content of from 1 to 20%, of pork, beef, mutton or chicken, for example. The present meat batter may comprise from 40 to 70%, preferably from 50 to 60% ground meat. The added fat is preferably an animal fat, such as backfat which has a fat content of about 90%, for example. This added fat may be ground before being added to the batter. However, good results may also be obtained with a vegetable oil such as soya oil, sun flower oil or corn oil, for example. Optionally, 2 to 8 g mixed spices, up to 1 g sodium ascorbate, up to 3% starch and up 2 g dextrose may be added per kg of meat batter, preferably at the time the fat is added. Preferably the pH of the batter should be in the range of from 5.8 to 6.5. If the pH of the batter is below this range, there is a risk of important deterioration of the water binding in the sausage product. The myofibrillar proteins may namely begin to increasingly repell water as the pH further drops. Possible pH adjustments may be made by adding sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate, for example. Grinding the meat and/or the added fat may be carried out in a traditional meat grinder, for example. Chopping the ground meat and other components for obtaining the batter may be carried out in a bowl chopper, of which the cutters may rotate at a speed of from 1000 to 6000 rpm while the bowl may rotate at a speed of from 10 to 30 rpm, for example. This chopping may advantageously be carried out by firstly chopping the ground meat, while adding the ice, the nitrite curing salt and optionally phosphate, at a temperature of from 1 to 10°C in one or more runs for a total time of from 30 s to 3 min, the batter being cooled between two successive runs, and then chopping to a temperature of from above 10 to 15°C, while optionally adding fat. An additional step of vacuum chopping for 30 s to 3 min may be advantageously provided before the stuffing step. Stuffing the meat batter may be carried out into natural or synthetic casings, especially into cellular peel-off or moisture-proof fibrous casings, for example. For treating the stuffed meat batter, namely the raw sausages, with a hydrostatic pressure of from 2000 to 4000 bars (200 to 400 MPa) it is preferred to isolate the outer surface of the casings from a liquid used for transmitting such a high pressure, a water or an oil for example, by means of vacuum packing the sausages into synthetic pouches, for example. These pouches may themselves be placed within a chamber of a high pressure equipment where the high hydrostatic pressure treatment may be carried out for a time and at a temperature adequate for obtaining an actual effect on the texture and on the cooking yield of the sausages. The treatment time may be up to 60 min, preferably up to 10 min, for example. This treatment time is reckoned from the moment when the hydrostatic pressure reaches the desired value, the time necessary for raising the pressure to this value being about one minute, for example. The treatment temperature may be from -15°C to 100°C, preferably from 5 to 60°C, for example. The pressure treated sausages may then be unpacked. The unpacked sausages may be reddened by holding them for up to 45 min at room temperature, for example. The sausages may then be steam cooked within a cooking or a smoking-cooking chamber of an adequate equipment either in one step, for about 45 to 75 min at about 70 to 98°C, or according to a cooking or smoking-cooking program usual in the art, for example. Such programs may comprise successive steps of warming, drying, steam smoking and/or steam cooking for about 5 to 30 min a step at temperatures of from 35 to 80°C and at a possibly controlled humidity of from 30 to 70%. The sausages may then be cooled under cold water and kept in a refrigerated chamber at about 4 to 5°C, for example. The present process can be carried out for manufacturing low salt and/or low phosphate and/or low fat and/or high water sausages of the type of finely comminuted cooked meat sausage products such as Lyoner, Frankfurter, Wiener, Bologna and Meat loaf, for example. The examples hereafter illustrate different embodiments of the process and of the product according to the present invention. The percentages are by weight unless otherwise stated. In these examples, the texture of the sausages was evaluated by testing their firmness with an Instron Universal Testing Machine (type 1140). For sausages of the Frankfurter type (Frankfurters), pieces 18 mm in diameter and 25 mm in length were sheared with a Warner-Bratzler (W-B) shear press cell (shear force expressed in N). For sausages of the Lyoner type (Lyoners), slices 50 mm in diameter and 10 mm in thickness were sheared with a Kramer multiblade shear press cell (shear force expressed in N). The cooking yield was calculated from the weight of the sausages taken before and after cooking and expressed in percents without dimension. In all the indicated recipes, the sum of the percentages of meat, added fat and ice was 100%. The respective amounts of the other ingredients, namely nitrite curing salt, phosphate and other additives are also indicated in % which are to be understood as by weight of the whole recipe, namely by total weight of the batter. Example 1 Pork shoulder lean meat and pork backfat were used two days after slaughtering. The lean meat which had a fat content of about 5% was cut into pieces of fist size and the backfat which had a fat content of about 90% was cut into pieces of about 5 x 10 cm. Both the lean meat pieces and the backfat pieces were separately ground in a meat grinder having a grid with 3mm openings. The ground meat and fat were stored in a refrigerator at 2°C. 60 kg of low phosphate sausages were manufactured according to the following recipe: Lean meat 50% Backfat 25% Ice 25% Nitrite curing salt 15 g/kg meat batter Sodium diphosphate 0.5 g/kg meat batter The process for manufacturing the low phosphate sausages was carried out by: chopping (Seydelmann Bowl Chopper, Type K-20 RAS) the ground meat, while adding the ice, nitrite curing salt and sodium diphosphate, at low speed (speed 1, cutters rotate at 1500 rpm, bowl rotates at 15 rpm) for 1 min, starting at a temperature of 2°C and ending at a temperature just below 10°C, cooling back to 4°C and further chopping at high speed (speed 2, cutters rotate at 3000 rpm, bowl rotates at 25 rpm) for 5 to 10 s to a temperature just below 10°C, chopping at high speed, vacuum chopping (Stephan Vacuum Cutter, Type VM 60) at low speed for 2 min, stuffing (Mado Filler, Type MWF 591 D) the batter thus obtained into cellular peel-off casings 18 mm in diameter, vacuum packing the raw Frankfurter thus obtained, treating (National Forge, high pressure chamber of 8.5 I) different samples of the vacuum packed Frankfurter at different hydrostatic pressures of 500, 750, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 3800 bar (50, 75, 100, 200, 300 and 380 MPa) for 5 min at about 10°C, unpacking the pressure treated Frankfurter, steam cooking them within a steam cooking chamber with humidity control (Rational, Type 111) according to a cooking program A comprising three heating steps, the first at 55°C and at a controlled humidity of 60% for 20 min, the second at 65°C and at a controlled humidity of 60% for 30 min, and the third at 75°C without humidity control for 25 min, and cooling them to ambient temperature. The cooking yield and the hardness of the Frankfurters manufactured in this way are shown in Table I hereunder together with the values obtained for comparison with control Frankfurters which were not high pressure treated. Pressure (bar) (•10 5 Pa) Cooking yield (%) Shear force (N) (W-B cell) 0 82.27 10.58 500 82.28 12.95 750 82.78 13.78 1000 83.46 15.44 2000 84.31 17.80 3000 83.54 16.50 3800 83.32 15.23 It may be seen in Table I that the low phosphate Frankfurters manufactured by the present process had a slightly higher cooking yield and a much firmer texture (with the highest increase being at 2000 bar (200 MPa)) than the control Frankfurters which were not high pressure treated. Example 2 Two different sets of low fat-low phosphate Frankfurters numbered as 4.1 and 4.2 were manufactured in the way shown in Example 1 but according to the following two different recipes: Lean meat 60% Backfat 5% Ice 35% Set (No) 4.1 4.2 Nitrite curing salt(g/kg meat batter) 15 15 Sodium diphosphate(g/kg meat batter) 0.0 0.5 Mixed spices 4.0 g/kg meat batter Sodium ascorbate 0.5 g/kg meat batter Dextrose 1 g/kg meat batter The cooking yield and the hardness of the Frankfurters manufactured in this way are shown in Table II hereunder together with the values obtained for comparison with control Frankfurters which were not high pressure treated. Pressure (bar) (•10 5 Pa) Cooking yield (%) Shear force (N) (W-B cell) 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.2 0 75.11 73.49 9.60 8.91 500 76.00 74.25 10.50 10.30 750 78.39 78.57 10.88 10.90 1000 79.24 79.09 13.40 12.85 2000 82.98 83.92 16.70 16.30 3000 81.30 80.85 14.30 14.30 3800 80.80 80.91 14.26 14.26 It may be seen in Table II that the low fat-low phosphate Frankfurters manufactured by the present process had a higher cooking yield and a firmer texture (with the highest increase being at 2000 bar (200 MPa)) than the control Frankfurters which were not high pressure treated. Example 3 One set of low phosphate-low fat Frankfurters numbered as 5.1 and one set of low phosphate Frankfurters numbered as 5.2 were manufactured in the way shown in Example 1 for two different hydrostatic pressures of 1000 and 2000 bar (100 an 200 MPa) and according to the following two different recipes: Set No 5.1 5.2 Lean meat (%) 60 50 Backfat (%) 5 25 Ice (%) 35 25 Nitrite curing salt (g/kg meat batter) 15 15 Sodium diphosphate (g/kg meat batter) 0.5 0.5 Mixed spices (g/kg meat batter) 4.0 4.0 Sodium ascorbate (g/kg meat batter) 0.5 0.5 Dextrose (g/kg meat batter) 1.0 1.0 Instead of being steam cooked as disclosed in Example 1, these sausages were steam smoked-cooked within a steam smoking-cooking chamber (Autotherm, Type 6349) according to a program B comprising warming at 50°C and at 60% humidity for 17 min, drying at 55°C and at 37% humidity for 7 min, steam smoking at 68°C for 10 min and steam cooking at 72°C for 12 min. The cooking yield and the hardness of the Frankfurters manufactured in this way are shown in Table III hereunder together with the values obtained for comparison with control Frankfurters samples which were not high pressure treated. Pressure (bar) (•10 5 Pa) Cooking yield (%) Shear force (N) (W-B cell) 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.2 0 83.39 90.60 10.27 13.35 1000 87.63 91.52 18.85 14.96 2000 88.71 91.86 19.60 15.20 It may be seen in Table III that the low phosphate-low fat Frankfurters and the low-phosphate Frankfurters manufactured by the present process had a higher cooking yield and a firmer texture than the control Frankfurters which were not high pressure treated.

Claims: A process for preparing low salt and/or low phosphate and/or low fat and /or high water sausages wherein: i) a batter comprising 40% to 70% meat, added water in an amount of from 20% to 50% by weight, added fat so that the fat content is from 1% to 30% by weight and nitrite curing salt is prepared, ii) the batter is then stuffed into a casing and, iii) the encased batter product is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure of from 2000 bar (200 MPa) to 4000 bar (400 MPa), for up to 60 min at a temperature of from - 15°C to 100°C iv) and then cooked. A process according to claim 1, which comprises the steps of: grinding comminuted meat, chopping the ground meat, while adding the ice, the nitrite curing salt, optionally phosphate, and optionally fat, stuffing the batter thus obtained into casings, vacuum packing the raw sausages thus obtained, treating the vacuum packed sausages with a hydrostatic pressure of from 2000 to 4000 bar (200 to 400 MPa) unpacking the pressure treated sausages, optionally reddening, cooking and/or smoking and cooling them. A process according to claim 1, which comprises treating the vacuum packed sausages with a hydrostatic pressure of from 2000 to 4000 bar (200 to 400 MPa) for up to 10 min at 5 to 60 °C. A process according to claim 2, which comprises chopping the ground meat, while adding the ice, the nitrite curing salt and optionally phosphate, at a temperature of from 1 to 10°C for 30 to 3 min, and chopping to a temperature of from above 10 to 15°C, while optionally adding fat. A process according to claim 1, which comprises preparing a batter comprising 40 to 70% ground meat, 20 to 50% ice, 1.2 to 2.4% nitrite curing salt and up to 0.3% phosphate, and adding fat in such proportions that the batter has a fat content of from 1 to 30%. A process according to claim 1, which comprises preparing a batter comprising 50 to 60% ground meat, 25 to 45% ice, 1.4 to 1.8% nitrite curing salt and up to 0.1% phosphate, and adding fat in such proportions that the batter has a fat content of from 1 to 10%. A process according to claim 1, which comprises adding from 2 to 8 g mixed spices, up to 1 g sodium ascorbate, up to 3% starch and up to 2 g dextrose per kg of meat batter.

Inventors: FERNANDEZ ISABEL, JUILLERAT MARCEL ALEXANDRE, MANDAVA RAO, FERNANDEZ, ISABEL, JUILLERAT, MARCEL ALEXANDRE, MANDAVA, RAO
Applicants: NESTLE SA, SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23L1, A22C11